Speaker by Various Artists

The ploy of bringing Ric Salizzo on as a replacement prop worked well, and the sought-after try was scored.

Ha! I missed the similarity until you pointed it out...

Very disappointing the Samoan's lost, I relished the prospect of them knocking over England and potentially playing Australia in the quarter finals...

I'll be reasonably happy to see England go through because they're our best shot at someone giving Australia a hard game before we meet them in the semi (if we do...). I don't believe Australia are really all that, and you never know, even this awful England team might just find some reserves when it comes to playing the crowing ones from the West Island.

even this awful England team might just find some reserves when it comes to playing the crowing ones from the West Island.

ummm... you don't really believe that do you?

because that would assume they could do things like, well, string together a coherent phase of play.

Not really, but a man can dream.

Taking an optimists view, England is so bad that the Aussies might be underdone by the time we meet them...

I don't believe Australia are really all that, and you never know, even this awful England team might just find some reserves when it comes to playing the crowing ones from the West Island.

Seriously? When Robinson went off in the England-South Africa match, was I the only person thinking "well now you've got zero good players on the field".

And, as a side note, I didn't see Ireland vs Namibia or Georgia, but if they barely got over the line against those two... can't imagine they're going to go well against Argentina or France.

I am kinda hoping this World Cup will expose an absolutely yawning chasm between Southern Hemisphere rugby and the North. Why? Because hopefully then the Northern unions will change the rules around foreign players and stop the flood of our guys going up there for the mighty pingers.

I am just a little unsettled at how underdone the All Blacks will be come quarter final time - especially if it does come to pass that we are up against a desperate French outfit.

If Samoa can beat England and then put a whalloping on the USA, then they might still have a shot at the Quarters.

however, Barkley and Wilkinson are back and (as I predicted before) they will most likely kick Samoa into submission. Beyond that the English did, late in the game, play some very good forward-based rugby, they were 30 points down so it wasn't too smart, but they can use that for field position to get score dropgoals.

as for Ireland, they have two games left against the Argentineans and French. Given current form the Pumas will wipe the floor with them. The French game though will be close.

I expected Georgia Portugal, Namibia and Romania (and even Samoa and Tonga) to fade the further they went into the cup. With less money and hence access to physical trainers and therapists and the like it is harder for them to get back to match readiness. Georgian proved a little bit wrong, but the Namibians didn't look half as good against the Pumas as they did against the Irish.

Wow, what a post.

The sad thing about the draw in the England pool is that South Africa play Tonga next.

If it was their last game, when they were assured of finishing top, it would’ve been funny to see the Boks throw that one to see Tonga through to the quarters…

They would’ve done that, wouldn’t they?

If it was their last game, when they were assured of finishing top, it would’ve been funny to see the Boks throw that one to see Tonga through to the quarters…

They would’ve done that, wouldn’t they?

I'm not sure if that's in the Springbok character. And they would have been completely crucified at home, and internationally as well.

I agree the Boks would’ve been crucified at home if they did that.

But the global sense of schadenfreude would’ve meant they’d have escaped international condemnation.